Hydroxyl Technology Vs Ozone Technology

The main benefit of using a true hydroxyl generator is that they are safe to use in occupied areas for deodorization purposes. Insurance companies do not have to cover a homeowner’s hotels or meals. Business owners do not have to shut down and loose precious business.
If people and animals can be removed from the treatment area, ozone will always do the jobs faster. And the general rule of thumb is if a strong ozone generator would take one day to do a job, a true hydroxyl generator will take three to five days to do the same job. But insurance companies don’t seem to have a problem paying for the extra time it takes a hydroxyl generator to do the job because they are saving on hotel and food costs and their customers are much happier staying in their own homes and businesses. In saying this, hydroxyl generators are commonly one of the first pieces of equipment installed on the job and can be run the entire length of the job. These machines are already in Xactimate and bring in some $200 per day on a rental. With the price of the hydroxyl generators on the market, there would be a 100% return on investment within the first week of use.
These generators have been successfully tested on fires and other restoration and bio jobs, including protein fires, floods, dead body situations, skunk odors, pet urine odors, musty odors and many types of VOC odors. Many restoration contractors have converted existing deodorizing chambers or added their own hydroxyl rooms with great success. You can run a hydroxyl room 24 hours a day and enter the room at any time with no threat to your health. True hydroxyl generators also will not bleach wet fabrics so they can be run on damp carpet without fear of lightening the color.
However, it’s important to note that hydroxyl generators are not intended for use on mold remediation jobs where there is a large infestation on surfaces or behind walls. The established protocols should always be followed in these instances. But generators with good filtration are excellent for airborne microbial remediation where bacteria or fungi have become aerosolized.
Here’s a look at more information and considerations for this type of deodorization.
What Is A Hydroxyl Radical?
The hydroxyl radical, •OH, is the neutral form of the hydroxide ion (OH–). Hydroxyl radicals are diatomic molecules that are highly reactive and very short-lived with an average half-life of less than two seconds. The hydroxyl radical which was first discovered by scientists in 1963 is often referred to as the “detergent” of the troposphere, or the lowest part of the atmosphere, because it reacts with many pollutants and helps destroy them. It also has an important role in eliminating some greenhouse gases like methane and ozone.
Atmospheric hydroxyl radicals should not be confused with free radicals that are produced inside living organisms. Atmospheric hydroxyl radicals are so reactive that they are instantly neutralized when they make contact with any substance and would be impossible to ingest as a complete ion. This is the fact that makes hydroxyl radicals, which are in the outside air at all times during the day, one of the safest processes for deodorizing in an occupied area.
Hydroxyls are formed in nature by the reaction of UV light from the sun disassembling water vapor (H20) to get a hydrogen atom and oxygen (O2) which are combined together to form the hydroxyl radical (*OH).
Technology Behind Radicals
All hydroxyl generators currently used in the restoration industry incorporate some form of UV light in their process. UV light has three major spectrums: A, B and C. UVA is in the 315nm to 400nm wavelength and is what is commonly referred to as a “black light,” which makes white things glow and is considered safe for vision and skin contact. UVA lamps do not produce ozone. UVB is in the 280nm to 315nm wavelength. These are the lights in tanning salons. UVC is the 100nm to 280nm wavelength. These lamps are “germicidal” and can damage your eyes and skin. UVC lamps in the 185nm spectrum produce large amounts of ozone.
Some manufacturers use UVC lamps in the 185nm to 254nm wavelength with no catalyst whatsoever and claim to make hydroxyls. These units are nothing more that ultraviolet ozone generators and should be avoided. Other manufacturers use the same UVC 185nm to 254nm wavelength UV lamps but also incorporate reactive metals like titanium as a catalyst to create hydroxyls. These machines would probably make more hydroxyls then the first process described above but they also produce ozone and should be considered for use in unoccupied areas only.
The third technology which was developed with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) utilizes UVC light in the 254nm wavelength to excite nano-sized particles of Titanium Dioxide to generate hydroxyl radicals. This process has been deemed safe by NASA (it has been used in the space station) and also certified by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) as a Type 2 Medical Device that is approved for use in hospitals, including neonatal and baby wards.
The safest and most preferred technology to produce hydroxyl radicals is a version of the NASA developed process that utilizes UVA (black light) in the 365nm to 385nm wavelength to excite (irradiate) nano sized Titanium Dioxide sol gel particles. Many scientists agree that UVA light is the best spectrum to produce the largest amount of hydroxyls possible with super reactive TiO2. The UV light used in this process is the same light that made Jimmy Hendrix posters glow in my teenage days. TiO2 is the white powder on powdered donuts or the white in your tooth paste. Both the black light and the TiO2 utilized in this technology are safe and benign.
Considerations
High volume of air movement: Since hydroxyls live less than two seconds, it is necessary and beneficial to have as much air movement as possible to move the hydroxyls out of the machine and as far away as possible in the two second time allotment. 5,000+ CFM will do a much better job than 500 to 600 CFM.
Moisture/humidity: The higher the humidity is in the treatment area the more hydroxyls will be produced and the better/quicker the hydroxyl generator will do the job. Hydroxyls are not temperature sensitive and like higher humidity which is the opposite of ozone which prefers cooler less humid conditions. 60%+ humidity is preferred for optimal hydroxyl generator performance.
Filtration: Another feature to look for in a hydroxyl generator is good filtration to help remove the oxidized particles and microbes from the air in the treatment area.
Hydroxyl Generator Purchase Considerations
Safety: Ask your hydroxyl generator manufacturer for the UV wavelength of their lamps. If they will not volunteer this information or they have lamps that are in the 185nm wavelength, consider looking elsewhere. If the hydroxyl generator you are looking at smells like ozone, it is likely making ozone. A true hydroxyl generator emits no odor at all.
Features: Get all the features you can on your hydroxyl generator. Look for the highest air volume you can get. Look for the best filtration available and look for a certified safe hydroxyl generation process that does not utilize ozone in its process. Make sure that the hydroxyl generator is sold through a network of restoration equipment retailers that can service your repair and warranty needs.
Price: Hydroxyl generator prices run the full gamut from a low of $500 to a high of $4,500. Check out the features, the hydroxyl producing process, the dealers that sell the product then make your own educated decision. Paying a lot of money does not guarantee that you will get the safest, most durable, best producing generator available. Do your due-diligence before buying.










OZONE
QUESTION: WHAT IS OZONE?
ANSWER: Ozone, sometimes called "activated oxygen", o3, contains three atoms of oxygen rather than the two atoms we normally breath. Ozone is the second most powerful sterilant in the world and its function is to destroy bacteria, viruses and odors in nature. Interestingly ozone occurs quite readily in nature, most often as a result of lightning strikes that occur during thunderstorms. In fact that "fresh, clean, spring rain" smell that we notice after a storm most often results from natures creation of ozone. Ozone is also created by water falls. However, we are probably most familiar with ozone from reading about the "ozone layer" that circles the planet above the earth atmosphere. Here ozone is created by the sun's ultra-violet rays. This serves to protect us from the ultra-violet radiation. Additionally, each of us is exposed to high levels of ozone sometimes daily for short periods of time. This happens in heavy traffic conditions or during times when the weather forces ozone to remain lower to the ground than is otherwise normal. The combination of these two factors can result in ozone readings as high as 4 or 5 times the "regulatory" levels for continuous exposure with absolutely no adverse affects as our exposure is for such short periods, and the ozone itself decays back to normal oxygen so rapidly.
Bactericidal action:
The highly effective bactericidal action of ozone has been well established in literature. This property of ozone makes it extremely useful for various applications.
Deodorizing action:
Ozone's deodorizing action is not simply a masking effect of unpleasant odors. It is a true chemical destruction of the compounds that create the odors in the first place. The existing air in an enclosed populated environment is rarefied with the decrease of the oxygen content. It has been proven that with ozone concentrations of around 0.01 ppm, the number of air renewals in any closed space is reduced.
QUESTION:
Which is better; UV (ultraviolet) Ozone Generation or Corona Discharge?
Why are UV ozone generators a better choice than corona discharge ozone generators?
(For all air or surface sterilization shock treatment applications such as MOLD, Smoke, Fire odors, musty smells, flood odor,protein decomposition odor, germ and virus remediation, etc.)
The Biggest difference between corona discharge and UV ozone generation methods is that UV ozone generators have stable ozone output levels throughout humidity ranges, while the output of corona discharge ozone generators is significantly reduced by just moderate humidity levels such as 40–70% (ozone output is reduced by approx. 40-70% with 40-70% humidity). In addition, with UV ozone generators, the cleaning requirement is almost eliminated compared to corona discharge ozone generators. Also, the ozone produced from a UV ozone generator is cleaner (no nitric acids) and smells better than ozone produced from corona discharge machines, and is just as powerful and often more powerful as ozone produced by corona discharge ozone generators.
UV models include UV PRO 550, UV PRO 550AT, UV PRO 1100AT, UV PRO 2800, UV PRO 4000, and UV PRO 6800
QUESTION: HOW DOES OZONE WORK?
ANSWER: While ozone is very powerful, it has a very short life cycle. When it is faced with odors, bacteria or viruses the extra atom of oxygen destroys them completely by oxidation. In so doing, that extra atom of oxygen is destroyed and there is nothing left...no odor...no bacteria...no extra atom, only oxygen. In addition to the effectiveness of ozone, we also know that it is safe to use. We know this from our own safe exposures daily to ozone, Whether, as noted earlier, resulting from being locked in traffic, or passing through industrial areas. These exposures have no effect on us. beyond our acknowledging the smell associated with ozone. It is the strength of this smell that provides ozone with it's "built in" safety mechanism. Ozone is safe because we notice it's smell at very residual levels. By residual we mean, the amount of ozone that is produced in excess of the required amount to eliminate whatever contamination that may be present in the room. This equipment, when used correctly will not exceed government guidelines for continuous safe exposure. Even if used incorrectly, ozone provides its own protection, as ozone warns us in a manner similar to smoke in a room. Ozone does this by becoming so offensive (a strong bleach-like smell) at 1.5 parts per million that we would not be able to stay in the environment for any more than a short period. This is much like what would happen if we entered a smoke filled room. However, while smoke might harm us, research has proven that a limited exposure to a low level of ozone would have no serious long term affect on us just as it does not affect us when caught in a traffic jam during rush hour.
QUESTION: HOW IS OZONE PRODUCED?
ANSWER: There are basically two methods of producing ozone...ultra-violet and corona discharge. Most equipment uses the corona discharge method, simulating in essence, lightning. Equipment utilizing UV was hard to find in the past because it was inefficient, expensive to operate, unreliable, and very costly to service compared to the corona discharge equipment available. In recent years the UV technology has improved significantly making it a viable alternative to the corona discharge systems and the preferred choice for remediation professionals.
QUESTION: HOW LONG DOES THE OZONE LAST?
ANSWER: As soon as ozone is formed in the generator and dispersed in a room some of it decays back into oxygen. This step occurs by several processes including the following: Natural decay (or revision to oxygen) due to ozone chemical instability. Speeding up of the above process by the presence of such as walls, carpets etc. stimulating the decay process. Oxidation reaction with odor causing organic material, which removes ozone. Reactions with bacteria etc., which again consumes ozone by oxidation reactions. Additionally ozone itself has a half life which means that "residual" ozone created (extra unneeded ozone) will return to oxygen within at most 30 minutes, in amounts equal to half its level. What this means is that after each subsequent 30 minute period there would be half as much residual ozone left at the end of the period as was present at the beginning of the period. This is similar to a geometric progression of 16;8;4;2;1. In practice the half life is usually less than 30 minutes due to temperature, bacterial, and other contaminants in the air. Therefore, ozone while very powerful doesn't last long...just does it’s job and disappears.

ozone generator

Odorox Boss With air mover

Thanks for reading
As Always........Stay Safe

Darren Miller

Original content via
http://www.randrmagonline.com/articles/86169-what-you-need-to-know-about-hydroxyl-generators
http://www.o3ozone.com/q&a_informed/ozone_q&a.htm

'Fresh water' flood coverage available Nov. 17 for new RSA Canada homeowner policies

'Fresh water' flood coverage available Nov. 17 for new RSA Canada homeowner policies

Make an emergency preparedness plan

Make a Plan

Recommend on Faceb

Families can cope with disasters by preparing in advance and working together as a team. If something were to happen, how would you contact one another, how would you get to a safe place, and what would you do in different emergency situations? Planning what to do before a disaster strikes provides the best protection for you and your family.

Create a Family Communication Plan

Because you and your family may not be together when a disaster hits, it’s important to create a communication plan to help you and your loved ones connect and get help. Complete a contact card for each family member. Have them keep these cards handy in a wallet, purse, or backpack.

More Tips:

• Identify an out-of-town contact, such as a friend or relative, who family members can call to let them know they are safe. It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to call across town, because phone lines can be jammed. An out-of-town contact may be in a better position to communicate among separated family members.
• Teach your family members how to text. It may seem like second nature to some of us, but not everyone texts. During an emergency it’s often easier to get a text message delivered rather than a phone call.
• Subscribe to an emergency alert system. Check with your local health department or emergency management agency to see if there is one offered for your area. Post emergency telephone numbers by home phones or save them in your cell phone (fire, police, ambulance, etc.).
• Teach children how and when to call 911 for help.

Create a Family Disaster Plan

Planning for a disaster means knowing what to do in each possible situation. Whether you have to evacuate your home or you need to shelter in place, it’s important to have a plan ahead of time.

Before creating your disaster plan, it’s important to know what types of emergencies are likely in your area and the best way to respond. For example, if tornadoes are common in your area does your family know what the warning signs are and where to take shelter? Call your Local Red Cross chapter or Emergency Management Agency for more information.

Because different disasters may require you to go to different places, make sure you identify a meeting place in your neighborhood, a meeting place just outside your neighborhood, and a meeting place out of town. Review these plans with all members of your family and don’t forget to consider what you would do with your pets who may not be allowed in emergency shelters.

More Tips:

• Learn about your community’s warning signals. What do they sound like and what you should do when you hear them?
• Determine the best escape routes from your home. Find two ways out of each room.
• Find the safe spots in your home for each type of disaster. For example, during an earthquake you would want to practice “drop, cover, and hold on” under a sturdy desk or table. During a tornado, you would want to seek shelter in a lower level room without windows.
• Show each family member how and when to turn off the water, gas, and electricity at the main switches.
• Teach each family member how to use the fire extinguisher, and show them where it’s kept.
• Practice your plan by quizzing your kids periodically and conduct fire and other emergency drills.
• Check your emergency supplies throughout the year to replace batteries, food, and water as needed.

Additional Ways to Prepare

• Check if you have adequate insurance coverage to cover possible flooding or structural damage to your home and property.
• Install smoke detectors on each level of your home, especially near bedrooms. Test and recharge your fire extinguisher(s) and smoke detectors according to manufacturer’s instructions.
• Install at least one battery–powered or battery back-up carbon monoxide alarm in your home, preferably near bedrooms. Test the battery at least twice a year, when you change the time on your clocks.
• Take a Red Cross first aid and CPR class .

Stay safe

Darre Miller

Check out original post here

http://emergency.cdc.gov/preparedness/plan/

Fire & Smoke Damage (do's and don'ts)

Fire & Smoke Damage

After fire damage it is natural to want to jump right in and clean the building and contents. Timely action can be a great help, but incorrect action can jeopardize or impede satisfactory restoration.

DO…

• Clean and protect chrome trim on faucets and other brightwork by washing with detergent and applying a coating of Vaseline or oil.
• Blow off or brush-vacuum loose smoke particles from upholstery, draperies and carpeting Open windows for ventilation if weather permits.
• Empty refrigerators and freezers if electricity is shut off, and prop doors open with a rolled towel or newspaper to allow air circulation.
• Pour antifreeze in toilet bowls, tanks, sink and tub drains to prevent freeze damage if heat is off in winter. Call a plumber to drain and blow out all water lines if heat is off in winter.
• Remove pets to a clean environment if heavy fire residues are present.
• Send a sample group of garments for cleaning and deodorization in order to observe the results.
• Retain a contractor to board up open windows, roofs, or other penetrations in order to prevent additional damage.

DO NOT…

• Wipe or attempt to wash fire residues from walls, ceilings or other absorbent surfaces.
• Use carpeting or upholstered furniture impacted by heavy residues or debris.
• Use food items or canned goods exposed to heat.
• Turn on computers, TV’s, stereos or electrical appliances until they have been cleaned and checked

Have a safe day

Darren Miller

Original post here

http://catastropheserv.com/emergency-restoration-tips/

Don't Damage Your Reputation: Spread Love, Not Mold or Debris

At the beginning of any restoration job, there is generally a feeling of hope, trust and good will that the job will be done correctly and the disaster will be erased. However, all that can change with the flick of a switch if an over-aggressive drying approach is applied at the wrong time.

 It’s a basic principle of drying: air movement evaporates moisture and dehumidifiers extract the moisture from the air. So it seems logical when wet materials are encountered to begin the dry-out process as soon as any needed extraction is done. However, applying air movers in the wrong situation can not only make a job quickly go south, it can also land you in court.

Merely teaching a technician how to install drying equipment is not enough. They need to be taught to always analyze their surroundings and assess the potential side effects of turning on the air movers. It will save potential property damage issues, health issues, and customer confidence issues.

Here are some instances where technicians need to take a step back and assess the environment before installing the air movers.

1.  Sewage Contaminations

Sewage contamination can contain bacteria, viruses and micro-organisms and requires careful treatment when first tackling the job. The use of air movers while any of these threats are present can spread these contaminants that are not normally aerosolized. Unlike mold spores, bacteria and micro-organisms are heavy and don’t normally become airborne, unless aggressively disturbed during the remediation process.

A sure way to spread this stuff around is to throw an air mover in to dry before the area is completely sanitized. During the sanitizing process, the use of negative air or dehumidification is acceptable. 

2.  Mold Situations

Dealing with mold is a sensitive issue of which most people are aware. However, what many fail to realize is most mold isn’t even visible to the naked eye. Those beautiful colors you see when mold is growing on the walls are either the mold’s flowers or excrement (yes, something ranks lower than mold – save that for your next insult). So, unlike when you punch a couch cushion and see a cloud of dust rise up in a sun beam, mold can’t be seen like that. If you get into mold and don’t have proper containment, then throw in an air mover, you can’t even see how far you have spread the spores.

When mitigating mold, cross contamination can be prevented by using 6-mil poly containment and negative air pressure. Air movers must not be used for drying until the remediation is complete, because they would pressurize and cross-contaminate mold.

Again, be aware of your surroundings and check to be sure the HVAC system is shut down during the remediation. Both the supply and return registers should be covered as well. Leave no opening unaddressed, because you might just fill a wall cavity with mold spores just waiting for the right conditions to grow and prosper.

3.  Dry Debris Present

It cannot be stressed enough to be very aware of your surroundings when turning on air movers. If years of dry dust or dirt are present, it MUST be cleaned up first, or you will blow the debris around and where it settles can cause significant secondary damage.

A favorite case of mine involved a rather dirty basement with accumulation of dirt in several areas. The property owner repaired computers and had many stored in an unaffected portion of the basement. On went the fans without cleaning up the dirt and stirred up a dustbowl settling nicely into each computer. Whoops… there was some explaining to do on that one.

4.  Cluttered Areas

It may be a clean water source and you have extracted the water from the floor, however, the area to be dried may be cluttered in more ways than you think. Before you turn on the powerful air movers, do a quick “walk of safety” to check the walls, and surfaces for loose materials or projectiles. Often, pictures or artwork on walls are not firmly secured and shake, rattle and even fly off. This can cause damage to the artwork, the walls and any furniture/fixture it may hit on the way down and the contractor will have to pay for all of it.

Even in the absence of resulting damage, when you cause the property owners belongings to fly around, your trust with them flies out the window.

5.  Too Many Air Movers

A lot of air movers might look cool on the job, however, proper drying is a delicate balance between evaporation and dehumidification.

The case of the Mickey Mantle jersey illustrates this. Half of a home was damaged by water, leaving the other half untouched. In the unaffected area there was an autographed Mickey Mantle jersey hanging on display. The restoration technicians put in too many air movers and the dehumidifiers couldn’t keep up with the moisture. The result was secondary humidity damage in the unaffected side of the house and the autograph on the jersey became wet and ran, smearing the name.

Remember, restoration companies are cleaning companies, so be aware of your surroundings, keep things clean and orderly every step of the process and this will keep you out of trouble and keep the referrals coming. 

Have a safe day guys

see original blog post here

Darren Miller

Restorer's Perspective: The Importance of IAQ

The images of the aftermath from a disaster are often what capture our attention, but as the clean-up and restoration begins, a critical part of the process is what you can’t see.

While many contractors and businesses go into the air duct cleaning industry as an affordable option for increasing revenue, the restoration industry has a unique position because of how important it is for providing a thorough cleaning.

While air ducts naturally accumulate particles and pollutants, those levels reach new heights after fire, smoke, or water-related damage. While routine cleaning is encouraged, air duct cleaning is a necessity following any disaster or damage in a home or business. Since air ducts are hidden, the damage and effect can be easy for consumers, and even contractors, to overlook.

Failing to properly clean the air ducts after a disaster can have many implications for the property owner including impacting the indoor air quality and causing further harm to the heating and cooling system. Any remnants left in the air ducts could be transferred throughout the HVAC system and reenter the indoor environment. According to the National Air Duct Cleaning Association (NACDA), pollutants in the home can be pulled into the HVAC system and recirculated up to seven times a day, on average. Since 1990, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has consistently ranked indoor air pollution as one of the top five environmental risks to public health.

In situations with water damage, there is also the risk for mold to develop and grow if not properly addressed.  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the World Health Organization, and Health Canada all agree living or working in a building with mold damage increases the risk of respiratory disease.

There are many portable systems available that make it easier to transport, can be operated by one person and are compact enough to navigate through smaller spaces such as attics and crawl spaces.

When purchasing equipment, it’s important to find a company that provides adequate training and support to ensure contractors understand the correct and most effective way to use the equipment perform air duct cleaning. Inadequate training can result in releasing the contaminants back into the air inside the home.

For homeowners, the services are covered by insurance so they won’t feel the extra cost and they’ll rest easier knowing their indoor air quality isn’t affected by the residuals. They will also have greater confidence in the future performance of their HVAC equipment. By not providing a proper cleaning, the homeowner could face potential issues with the performance of their HVAC system and cause an increase in energy bills.

Offering air duct cleaning can give contractors a competitive advantage. Indoor air quality is increasingly becoming a concern for homeowners and facility managers, whether or not there has been a disaster on the property.

We all strive for customer satisfaction. With the growing importance of indoor air quality, be sure to include air duct cleaning in your restoration services.  

Have a safe day

see original article here

Darren Miller

Capitalizing on Claims Data

 

After initially focusing on underwriting and pricing, many insurance companies have expanded their view of data analytics to loss management. The claims handling process represents a rich area for data modeling tools that can provide better insight into everything from adjuster assignment and operational efficiency to fraud detection and subrogation. How does data analytics fit into the claims management process for insurers - and adjusters?

By: Craig Harris, Freelance Writer

---

If "data is the new oil," as some contend, then analytics represents the internal combustion engine of business intelligence. Insurance companies are using various types of data analysis and predictive modeling techniques in areas such as underwriting, pricing and, increasingly, claims management.
Deloitte Canada recently surveyed Canadian insurance companies across underwriting, risk management and claims departments to ask how important data analytics was to their operations.
"Thirty per cent said it was important and 70 per cent said it was absolutely critical," comments Keith Walter, senior advisor, insurance consulting practice, Deloitte Canada. "The top 20 property and casualty (p&c) insurance companies in Canada are either in development or in testing phase with data analytic models and concentrating on certain areas. Number one is loss cost management, through fraud and subrogation; and number two is operational efficiency, or how to manage resources against claims in an efficient way."
The jockeying for position in data analytics has led to an arms race for insurers seeking to harness the power of structured and unstructured (or big) data for business insights into the claims handling process.
"If we measure the data, we have an opportunity to manage the data," says Patti Kernaghan, president of Kernaghan Adjusters Ltd. "If we spend the time creatively accessing the data, and the possible decision making opportunities coming out of the data collected at the claims front line, we'll be better equipped to see patterns that are otherwise hard to pinpoint."
Scientific Evidence
Kernaghan adds that "in the past decisions were often made on gut instinct. Data analytics provides the scientific evidence that will help us make better decisions for claims management and ultimately better underwriting and better insurance products that suit the needs of the insuring public."
A 2014 Towers Watson survey of U.S. and Canadian insurers found that company priorities in data analytics primarily involved underwriting/risk selection (57 per cent use or plan to use), but claims functions figured predominantly in the list. Specifically, loss control (49 per cent), claims triage (37 per cent) and evaluation of fraud potential (36 per cent) emerged as key areas of focus for insurers - particularly as "plan to use" in the near future.
To get there, insurers will have to make sense of the dizzying array of information available in today's digital society: the so-called three "Vs" of big data - volume, velocity and variety. According to an IBM white paper, each day more than 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created. Velocity often refers to "real-time" or streaming data and the need to incorporate that information into business processes and decision-making. And then there is the variety of data: structured, semi-structured and unstructured information. This could involve text, sensor data, audio, video, radio-frequency identification (RFID), click streams, log files, twitter, Facebook posts - essentially, any type of measurable data.
"I see more emphasis on leveraging outside data sources and unstructured data sources to increase efficiencies and cost containment in the claims management process, and provide more robust and inclusive risk management analytics," notes Patrick Bossey, manager business intelligence unit, Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc.
Unstructured Data
"We have already seen this trend starting to take off with respect to the infrastructure for some of the fraud detection solutions out in the market, and this will only continue as the underlying technologies and abilities to manage and mine big data mature," he adds.
In a recently released Canadian study, Property and Casualty Insurance Reimagined: 2025, Deloitte notes that insurers will face a learning curve on "how to collect, store and take action on structured - and especially unstructured - data. While much of the data insurers will need will be highly organized, consistent and structured, far more data will be 'unstructured' - an anarchic collection of social posts, tweets, claims photos and more. Carriers will need to determine how they'll monitor and make sense of it all."
Indeed, a recent research report spearheaded by the UK Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters, in conjunction with Ordnance Survey, found that 82 per cent of those questioned believed that insurers that do not capture the potential of big data will become uncompetitive. Another recent study from IBM found that 74 per cent of insurance companies surveyed report that the use of information (including big data) and analytics is creating a competitive advantage for their organizations.
Those insurers with the capability to turn raw data into useful information and then business-driven insights will gain strong footholds in various facets of the claims lifecycle - from FNOL to resolution.
More insurance companies are using, or contemplating, data analytics and predictive modeling to better identify claim patterns. Insurers have invested in software and tools such as link analysis, text mining, social media analytics, location intelligence and network visualization Predictive analytics, which involves the use of regression models and advanced techniques such as neural networks, helps to quickly and more accurately determine the complexity of the claim and whether it needs further investigation.
These techniques can apply to various types of data or information. A good example is the use of text mining to search for specific words or "tags" in adjusters' notes.
"Text mining can help carriers identify, understand, and measure the root causes behind losses to enable smarter underwriting. 'Water damage' is a great example, because often a claim possesses that descriptor and has no further detail in a claims system," states Karthik Balakrishnan, an analytics specialist formerly with Verisk/ISO. "Using appropriate text mining on claim adjuster notes can reveal whether the claim was the result of a 'burst pipe' or a 'weather-related event.' Applying that granular insight to identify and quantify trends can lead to development of smarter underwriting criteria and establishment of stronger loss control and prevention mechanisms."
Driving Insight
So, how is data analytics driving insight into key parts of the claims management process? There are several areas cited by sources. One is the identification of loss patterns and the opportunity for reductions in claims. Bossey explains that Crawford & Company (Canada) uses geocoding, time lapsing and benchmarking to analyze loss data and identify trends for its clients.
"We work with our clients to establish and monitor action plans, minimize loss exposures, and provide them with the 'full picture' of their loss activities," Bossey notes. "For example, in one such case we identified specific neighbourhoods in major cities, which, over multiple years, had concentrations of break and enter claims. This information was synthesized into clear and concise formats, and was shared with key stakeholders to prompt appropriate action."
Kernaghan agrees that data analytics can drive major changes in risk exposures and opportunities. "A primary way of using data analytics is for cost saving purposes," she states. "The claim results help inform the underwriters when coverages need to be reviewed, deductibles increased or even new products developed such as flood insurance, that is just now being offered in Canada by two companies."
It is not just insurance companies that want this information - but risk managers as well. "Our risk management clients tend to use high-level analytics - they are looking for trends and benchmarks," Bossey says. "They want to know how to reduce claims, but also want to gauge themselves against prior years and similar types of risks. Mostly commonly, they are looking for cost trending and comparisons, financial ratios, litigation ratios and the frequencies of certain types of losses. "
Kernaghan notes that "front-line claims data collection is particularly important to risk managers, especially in large corporations that have long understood and applied data analytics to their specific operations. Today with the increased availability of tracking data inexpensively, scientific evidenced based decisions are becoming even more available and important to risk managers when making business decisions," she says.
Fraud detection is another critical area for data analytics and claims, particularly for insurance companies exposed to various forms of organized, premeditated and opportunistic fraud. Insurers are using various methods, including link analysis, location intelligence/analytics and network visualization, to more quickly identify suspicious claims.
Fraud Detection
"A key question is how claims organizations are better equipping themselves to identify both hard and soft fraud," says Alex Watson a manager in the insurance consulting practice for Deloitte Canada. "And then how do they use that information to better allocate investigation resources, whether that is through a dedicated fraud investigation team that is going out into the field or using social media tools."
Data analytics can represent a better technique to catch fraudsters than traditional fraud detection measures, such as red-flag indicators, random file reviews or automated business rules.
"Most fraud solutions on the market today are rules-based," notes Stuart Rose, a global marketing principal at SAS in a report, Six Ways Big Data Analytic Can Improve Insurance Claims Processing. "Unfortunately, it is too easy for fraudsters to manipulate and get around the rules. Predictive analysis, on the other hand, uses a combination of rules, modeling, text mining, database searches and exception reporting to identify fraud sooner and more effectively at each stage of the claims cycle."
Bossey observes that there are interesting developments with data in identifying opportunistic fraud and claims leakage. "An exciting area of opportunity is applying analytics to contain leakage," he says. "Similar to building a fraud detection solution that identifies red flags, if we can develop algorithms to flag potential leakage and refine these algorithms with audits and real-life use, we can work towards building more robust models."
Subrogation represents a prime area for increased efficiencies in data analytics, according to sources.
"Many insurers are asking: 'how do we pinpoint subrogation opportunities earlier in the claims lifecycle? What are the key triggers in data analytics or the adjuster's ability to identify subrogation potential?'" Watson notes. "This can then be passed to a more specialized unit who can investigate and recover money sooner rather than later. There are a lot of subrogation dollars left on the table, either because they are recognized too late in the claims lifecycle or not recognized at all."
One of the key drivers for data analytics in the claims management process is enhanced operational efficiency - or making the claim hand-off process as smooth and quick as possible. There's room for improvement, for example, in the adjuster assignment process, according to sources.
Operational Efficiency
"Adjuster assignment segmentation is a heavily manualized process that is probably documented on some sort of Excel spreadsheet by a claims supervisor," Watson observes. "For insurers, however, once they are able to capture the right amount of personal and loss information, they are better able to segment those claims to the right people. The real opportunity for data is really its use as a workforce management tool - to get more sophisticated in assignment and segmentation."
The allocation of resource capacity in large catastrophic events is another important claims consideration for insurers and adjusters, according to Watson.
"We have seen a lot of insurers still struggling with how they prepare for CAT events, even though we are getting to the point of anticipating and even knowing the risks beforehand within a generally defined range," he says.
"For example, with hurricane season, we know that in the south Atlantic, the season is between July and December, but the peak months tend to be October-November. So how do insurers use data analytics to build up capacity in the affected areas? Or how do they alleviate capacity restraints in those areas? Can they offload some of the claims onto areas that may have less capacity?" Watson notes.
For independent adjusters themselves, many of the features of data analytics have revolved around key performance indicators (KPIs) set out by insurance companies.
"One of the primary ways data analytics are used today is . . . tracking various KPIs to include a series of firsts: 1) Contact with the insured; 2) Claim site visit; 3) Report to the principal; 4) Reserves; and 5) Cycle time," Kernaghan comments. "These basic data elements provide an overview of the performance on an individual claim and once rolled up to the entire portfolio level, they can provide management with tools to assess the adjuster's performance and the progress of the entire claims portfolio."
Bossey notes that most of these performance measurements are aligned with cost containment. "In terms of cost containment, our focus has been on measuring key performance indicators and targets set forth by our clients and by Crawford standards, and establishing secondary metrics to proactively strive towards set KPIs and targets," he says.
"One way we monitor costs is by monitoring claim shelf life. We have worked in conjunction with our claims team to understand key milestones during the life of a file and have established measures to track our progress against the established KPIs and targets. This allows for the early identification of files that require additional attention and allows us to direct our resources accordingly to shorten the life cycle of the claim," Bossey adds.
However, an overly narrow focus on metrics and performance targets may take away from the real value of data analytics, according to some sources.
Performance Targets
"Adjusters are using analytics at a claims level; however, there is a lot of untapped potential," Bossey notes. "I feel the main reason for this is that in a world of KPIs, target and benchmarks, most of the claims level analytics thus far have been tailored to the examiner, vendor manager and/or risk manager audience, and are usually performance management based. This means we have been primarily using analytics to track and measure the claims process, rather than augment and support it."
To truly reap the rewards of data analytics, Bossey says "the next steps are to work closely with adjusters and operations to intimately understand processes and workflows, with the ultimate goal of automating more functions, and tailoring information to support their specific needs and facilitate their workflow."
The technology investment in data analytics has to be accompanied by an equal emphasis on people and process in claims management functions, according to Watson. "It is critical for the claims organization to get the people and process part right," he says. "Traditionally, insurance companies' systems haven't allowed them to capture the richness of data that they require in a structured format. So we are seeing the need for insurers to implement the right processes, and measure the right KPIs to incent the appropriate behaviours."
Watson adds "that is a move away from, 'let's just capture the entire claim in an unstructured notes section.' Instead, it's 'let's better use the technology we have and capture all of the information we are going to require.' Insurers know this will eventually drive lower loss adjustment expenses, allow them to predict losses or be better able to assign and select claims to the right adjuster the first time. And ultimately, it will provide better customer service."
There are many challenges to the full adoption of data analytics and several reasons why some insurers have yet to pursue "end-to-end implementations," according to Deloitte's Walter.
"The two biggest challenges in data analytics are people and costs," says Walter. "There is a relatively small pool of people who are knowledgeable and capable of dealing with advanced data analytics. The second issue is the total cost of what we would call end-to-end implementation. It is one thing to build a model in a lab somewhere; it is another thing to actually implement it into a live system so it is delivering value when needed."
For adjusters, one of the main obstacles to data analytics is the quality of the data itself. "The main challenges we see are inconsistent or incomplete data," says Bossey. "Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has provided excellent guidance and frameworks for statistical models and coding. For the analytics side of the industry on the whole, there is great opportunity to establish consistency in terminology and measurements - particularly for common terms, such as shelf-life and claim."
Quality of Data
Bossey adds that "data sharing is problematic because each organization structures their data to match their unique operational needs, and calculates measures based on their own evidence of activities. If we can get to a place where some of the key terminology and pieces of data can be locked down across the board, the whole industry could benefit."
Kernaghan says that one of the most obvious obstacles to data analytics is data integrity. "Can you rely on the source? Is it timely? Is it accurate? Have your naming conventions been clearly articulated and agreed upon?" she asks. "If you are confident in all areas, your evidence based results will help provide a sound analysis for making business decisions."
While cumbersome, these challenges will not likely stop the progress of data analytics in the p&c insurance marketplace, according to sources.
For claims, Bossey believes the future will see "an ongoing validation and refinement of fraud detection models. In addition, there will be a continued focus on identifying further efficiencies in the claims handling process through predictive modeling, and a move to using analytics to reinvent the claimant experience after a loss."
Kernaghan observes that "we are operating in a world of evidence based information. The issue is effectively reading the data collected to ensure we make the right decisions. The future of data analytics in the p&c industry for claims and risk managers is a stronger and stronger reliance on the increasingly cheaper ways to gather scientific evidence based data," she adds.
"We are very quickly getting to the point where it is not a shortage of data, but rather whether insurance companies can take full advantage of the data they have," Watson concludes. "It is a race to turn that data into real value, and unlock the value that is already there."

READ ORIGINAL POST HERE:
 http://www.claimscanada.ca/issues/article.aspx?aid=1003714026

Thank you for reading this post

Stay safe,
Darren Miller
Project Manager at Winmar Fraser Valley
http://winmar.ca/fraservalley

Social media evidence and ethical discovery: Looking behind the curtain

The bottom line on social media investigations
Social media usage increases by the day. People are constantly finding new ways to share nearly every aspect of their lives online. For those professionals who are responsible for handling or defending claims, it is imperative to devise a social media investigation strategy to obtain evidence that just may "make or break" a claim in your favor. What is your strategy?

 

According to recent estimates, people send 31.25 million messages on Facebook; send 347,222 tweets on Twitter; view 17,361 profiles on LinkedIn; post 48,611 pictures on Instagram; upload 300 hours of video on YouTube; and upload 1,041,666 video loops on Vine every minute. Given that there are 1,440 minutes in a day, the amount of content shared in the social media universe is astonishing. If investigating a claimant's social media sites is not a routine part of your claims or litigation defense strategy, you are overlooking scores of potentially valuable evidence.
The best social media evidence is discovered early
There are countless ways in which a claimant's social media profiles, activities or updates can be disastrous to his or her claim. Claimants’ counsel are keenly aware of the real danger social media poses to potential claims. It is now common practice for counsel to instruct claimants to limit social media use, increase privacy settings to the highest levels, decline any new “friend” requests, or simply delete the entire social media existence.
Related: Why protecting claims evidence matters
Faced with the possibility of an inactive, non-public, or deleted social media profile, the best time for claims professionals to gather beneficial evidence is as early as possible after becoming aware of a claim. This early investigation strategy increases the likelihood of capturing information showing a claimant at baseline levels, depicting the existence or severity of preexisting conditions or property damage, or sharing immediate post-incident activities that may belie future allegations. It is a good practice to continue monitoring a claimant's information over time to track how any favorable evidence changes throughout the claims process and litigation.
Also, be sure to review the social media profiles of a claimant's spouse, children, friends, roommates, or other fact witnesses. Any one of these individuals may have and share incident-related or claimant-specific evidence that aids in the investigation.

(Photo: Twin Design /Shutterstock.com)
Look, but don't touch: Ethical guidelines for investigating social media

The current consensus among courts is that there is no privacy interest in information uploaded to social media, regardless of the user's privacy settings. In Tompkins v. Detroit Metro. Airport, a Michigan federal judge explained that "material posted on a 'private' Facebook page, that is accessible to a selected group of recipients but not available for viewing by the general public, is generally not privileged, nor is it protected by common law or civil law notions of privacy." The principle underlying a claimant's lack of privacy over social media is that the information distributed was intended to be shared with someone. Related: Hidden dangers: 5 steps to keep your child's identity protected online
Despite the lack of privacy interest, claims professionals must still be mindful of not violating ethical rules. Communicating with claimants through social media portals can be viewed as an illegal or inappropriate contact with an opposing party. Here are some guidelines to consider in developing a social media investigation strategy:
Publicly available information. When asked "whether a lawyer may visit the public website of an opposing party," in a 2005 ethics opinion, the Oregon Bar Association answered that the viewing of a claimant's publicly available social media information was ethical because it did not involve any communication, and analogized such conduct to being no different than “reading a magazine article or purchasing a book written by that adversary.” Put differently, it is not unethical to passively view publicly available social media information. The bar associations and courts that have addressed this issue agree that such conduct does not run afoul of ethical guidelines.
Non-public information. Information that claimants place behind social media privacy settings restricts access to "friends," "subscribers," or "followers" already existing within their same shared social network. While it may be tempting to “friend” or “follow” a claimant, it is not advisable to do so for several reasons. First, doing so has the potential of violating ethical rules of some jurisdictions. In 2011, the San Diego County Bar Association advised that it is unethical to make an ex parte "friend" request to view the non-public portions of a represented party's social media profile. This is because becoming a claimant's "friend" requires making a direct request of (or contact with) the claimant.

Related: Statement analysis: The truth lies in the words
The second reason to not "friend" a claimant concerns the timing of when an unrepresented claimant retains legal counsel. While there are jurisdictions that permit social media contact with an unrepresented claimant (e.g., Kentucky, New York, Oregon, and others), claims professionals are not always aware of when a claimant hires an attorney. Accordingly, what may be ethical behavior one day, may become unethical the next.
The last reason for not "friending" a claimant is the likely low value of the discoverable evidence from a claimant who accepts a claims professional's friend request. In the jurisdictions that allow social media contact with unrepresented parties, the legal professionals are required to disclose their true identity to the claimant (e.g., in Kentucky and New York) and also disclose the true purpose of the friendship request (e.g., in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire). Thus, identifying yourself (as a claims professional or attorney) and asking claimants to accept your friendship request because you would like to view their non-public information for purposes of investigating the veracity of their claim is not likely to provide much, if any, valuable evidence.
Nor is it good practice to hire a third-party to "friend" claimants to retrieve non-public social media information. When presented with this hypothetical scenario in 2009, the Philadelphia Bar Association advised that such a discovery method was inherently deceptive. It opined that such conduct was unethical because, in that situation, the legal professional omitted "a highly material fact, namely, that the third party who asks to be allowed access to the witness's pages is doing so only because he or she is intent on obtaining information and sharing it with a lawyer for use in a lawsuit to impeach the testimony of a witness."

Photo: Ttatty/Shutterstock

Proper preservation of social media evidence
Having found some valuable evidence on the claimant's social media profile(s), the next step is to preserve this information for future use. Such evidence may be secured in a variety of ways ranging from simple to high-tech. The simplest way is to print or save screenshots of the social media content. This method, unfortunately, does not include any of the "metadata" — or unique digital DNA — associated with the social media information.
Related: A quick summary of the legal factors that can impact insurance claims
The high-tech method involves hiring vendors who specialize in retrieving and preserving publicly available social media information and its associated metadata. For instance, such vendors are not only able to determine when a particular photo was posted to a social media account, but they can also identify the specific device from which the photograph was uploaded. This method may be the optimal way to preserve “smoking gun” social media evidence in higher value claims and litigation.
Authenticating and getting social media admitted into evidence at trial
While courts weigh many factors in admitting social media evidence (relevance, hearsay, etc.), authentication is the biggest hurdle to admissibility. Authentication requires proof that the matter in question is what its proponent claims it to be.
The primary concern with social media evidence, as the Maryland Supreme Court said in Griffin v. State, is the relative ease that "anyone can create a fictitious account and masquerade under another person's name or can gain access to another's account by obtaining the user's username and password," combined with the fact that "a person observing the online profile of a user with whom the observer is unacquainted has no idea whether the profile is legitimate." In short, courts want to know if the account owner actually posted, tweeted or uploaded the social media evidence in question.
Given that courts want (and evidentiary rules require) proof that the social media content is genuine, here are some ways to authenticate social media evidence and get it admitted in court:

• Written discovery. Propound Requests for Admission that require claimants to admit or deny that they created or posted the social media at issue.
  
• Deposition testimony. During depositions, claimants can be asked if they created the social media profile and posted the picture or statement in question.
  
• Forensic inspection. Examine the claimant's hard drive or smartphone to determine if that device was used to create the social media profile or created the evidence in question.
  
• Stipulation. Simply ask opposing counsel to stipulate to the authenticity of the social media evidence sought to be introduced at trial — the answer may, surprisingly, be "yes."
  

The bottom line on social media investigations
Social media usage increases by the day. People are constantly finding new ways to share nearly every aspect of their lives online. For those professionals who are responsible for handling or defending claims, it is imperative to devise a social media investigation strategy to obtain evidence that just may "make or break" a claim in your favor. What is your strategy?
Jeremy Rogers, Esq., is a senior attorney with litigation defense firm Smith Freed & Eberhard, P.C. He assists in special investigations, offers coverage advice, and defends carriers and insureds in federal and state court litigation. He can be reached at jrogers@smithfreed.com.

READ ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE  http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2015/08/20/looking-behind-the-curtain-social-media-evidence-a?t=investigative-forensics&page=2&page_all=1

Thank you for reading this article

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have A safe Day

Darren Miller